Engineer Goby experiences?

[michelle]

Hello all! I am scheduled to pick an engineer goby up from QT at my LFS on Friday. I was going to get a sandsifter, but, I was hesitant to get something that will eat the pods in my sand. I thought this guy would be good to stir the sand and I have heard they are great fish. Fun to watch, peaceful and bery hardy. Anyone have one?

 

[Bifferwine]

They are jumpers, so make sure you have at least eggcrate over your tank.

 

[michelle]

Thanks biff. Yay I actually designed a flyscreen top after losing 3 fish to jumping through my various other topping attempts. Thanks though.

 

[yote]

Hope rock sits on the bottom glass and not the top of the sand.Engineer gobies will undermine the rock and could cause your rock work to fall.

 

[michelle]

thanks yote, I actually had to adjust one rock to make sure it was secure on the bottom and not sitting on the sand. Appreciate the heads up though

 

[michelle]

Well today was when I was supposed to pick up my fish that the store has been quarentining for me. One of the 2 engineer gobies apparently looks to have one eye a little cloudy, so he said I should wait another week.
I was looking forward to taking them home today, but I am glad he is so honest and trustworthy about his livestock. And, what is one more week hey?

 

[dustin_P74]

dont you think having two gobies in a 55 gallon tank is pushing it

 

[zippyjr123]

I have one, and I think they're great. Always comes to the front of the glass,very personable fish. Doesn't mess with any other fish in my tank. The one thing is he makes big sand piles and gets under every rock in the tank. Other then that I haven't had any problems with him. Eats any food I put in there, also will let me hand feed him.

 

[RyanG]

They can get HUGE! The local guy with the 1000g woody has two that have got to be a foot long! They look like midget eels! Very cool fish though

 

[michelle]

dont you think having two gobies in a 55 gallon tank is pushing it

I have been wondering the same. I am upgrading within a year to 100-120. I was going to only one, but apparently they are a species that appreciate being at least in pairs.
Any idea how quickly they grow? I am hoping they would be okay for up to a year, although I could do the upgrade quicker if need be.

 

[yote]

They grow pretty quick for a fish.But I think you'll be alright for a year.

 

[simpleman]

I have one and it's great at moving the sand bed around. It will eat pods though, mine loves pods. Another down side is they can and will bury corals that live on the sand bed ( plates, brains, etc.) Also will pick at smaller shrimp (sexy, peps)

 

[michelle]

Good to know simpleman. I was thinking of getting a couple of peppermints. I guess I will have to put more thought into those little guys. I do have a couple of corals sitting on my sandbed. How big a problem are they here? What do you do?
Thanks

 

[Piggy]

I have one. They are so cool to watch. When I got mine it was a little guy. Now it is about six inches or so. At first he spent a lot of time hiding. But once he got over his shyness you'll see him all the time. He loves to dig in the sand. He'll eat whatever I feed my other fish. He'll even eat algea sheets that I give my tangs. One time he got part of it over his head where he couldn't see and went crazy. It was so halarious. He is one fish that is fun to watch.

 

[simpleman]

If the corals are anywhere near the gobies burrow (the whole tank in my case) then he will be dumping sand on them. Mine buried a colony of sun polyps and I lost 4-5 of the 25 polyps. He's also tried to bury a plate coral the other day, but the plate can just swell up and push the sand of itself. Don't get me wrong I think they're cool fish, just a warning.

 

[hoopsdaddy]

Bought one a year and a half ago. Wife loved it. We got it home drip acclimated and placed in tank(yes I know to quar them and I do now but not then). Saw it for a day. It made a burrow. And we have seen it maybe five times until today as we are upgrading out system. It has doubled in size and I have never seen it eat any offered food. Guess my worms, stars, and pods are abundant. It is healthy but very shy. Hope yours likes people. Everyone at fish store says it is rare for them to hide very long periods of time. They do get very large. I have seen them at a local fish store as big as 18". Eel without all the hastles is what that store claims.

 

[FELIX7862]

I have 2 enginner gobies in a 90 gal tank that are over 18" or more in length and about 1.5 " in girth

 

[jpeder02]

I've kept this species for several years, with tight-fitting lids and deep sand beds. They are very interesting, compatible and hardy. Fun to let kids view tunnels from bottom, to see creature beneath rockwork and sand bed.

Down to only 1 now, in an 80-gal with sailfin tang, clownfish and shrimp; happy for six years. Can't grow many corals but mushrooms do fine on large rocks. Six-line wrasse also did okay in there. I've read these prefer pairing or schools when young, but I think their priority is lots of sand and pods. Don't worry if they don't aggressively fetch food like the others - all leftovers find way to big papa.

In the past I tried to keep rockskippers (Scooter Blennie) and more shrimp but they disappear. I'm not sure the engineer goby is 100% innocent. They battled for space along the bottom most of the time.

 

[sherbear]

Hi! I just got an engineer goby last week on Thursday. He was a pretty good size considering he had been at the LFS for about 3-4 months. I love him, he is so beautiful!! He doesn't come out much though since I got him he's pretty much been in hiding in my 125 gallon tank. Then i heard they like to be in pairs our groups, so my sister decided to surprise me and buy me another one on Monday, yay! :-) This one was much smaller though, only about half the size of the first one, and when i came home from running errands on Monday, the bigger one had killed the smaller one... :-( Has anyone else ever heard of this or had an experience with this?? Does this mean I'll never be able to add another engineer goby? Thank you!!

 

[BL1]

Quoted from LiveAquaria "Small groups or pairs tend to do better in an aquarium, but need to be introduced simultaneously to the tank."